The Days After
by Elja
Summary: DL oneshot set after Snow Day. Just fluff really.


**Hi guys, this is just a little oneshot set after Snow Day that popped into my head last night :) There don't seem to be very many DL stories on here at the moment- so I hope more people write some soon - we need something to get us throught the break! Anyway, hope you like, rated for a tiny bit of language.**

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The subway was in it's usual crowded state at the commuter time of 7:45am as Lindsay Monroe rode it to work on Friday morning.

Two days previous had seen their lab being blown up, two members of the close-knit team seriously injured, and the boss taking off for London. Since then, the few of them that were left with two working hands had been putting in overtime to ensure the lab was in working order as soon as possible.

Lindsay sighed as yet another person with a frame twice the size of her own jostled her into the burly man behind her. She couldn't wait to get off this damned thing and get to work already.

Turning away from the burly made who was leering down at her with lust filled eyes, Lindsay let her thoughts turn to her own man - well, maybe he wasn't _quite_ her 'man' yet - but he was definitely something close to that.

Since their first night together two nights earlier, Lindsay had only seen Danny Messer twice briefly. Once just after he'd been freed from the Irish gang who'd taken him hostage, and again when she'd managed to slip away for a quick visit to his hospital room yesterday morning.

She knew Danny was getting released last night, but he was told strictly to rest up. Lindsay hadn't gotten off work until ten last night, and hadn't wanted to disturb him so late. A quick text message to say she hoped he was okay and that she'd be around tonight if she could was all Lindsay had managed before falling into bed.

The train finally reached her midtown stop, and Lindsay shoved and elbowed her way through the sea of people to the doors. Stepping out of the train was like taking a big breath of fresh air after being underwater - even if that air was stale-underground-subway-station-air.

Taking the steps two at a time, a smile crossed Lindsay's face as she emerged into what promised to be a beautifully warm and sunny early summer's day in New York City.

Her smile quickly faded, though, as she approached the NYPD Crime Lab - and saw two familiar figures chatting on the sidewalk outside.

Standing facing her and laughing at something his companion had just said, was Don Flack. But it was the figure with his back to her - the dirty blond hair, jeans, converse and cigarette dangling loosely from his fingers - that had caused Lindsay's smile to disappear. What the hell was he doing out of bed?

At that moment, Flack looked up and caught her eye, but Lindsay put her finger to her lips, signally Don to pretend he hadn't seen her.

As quietly as possible (which wasn't hard considering the mass of people and noise surrounding them), Lindsay snuck up behind Danny, grabbed his shoulders from behind, and whispered "Caught ya!" in his ear.

Wishing she had a camera to catch his expression, Lindsay laughed as Danny spun around so fast he dropped his smoke in the process and had to struggle to regain his balance, wincing at the pain in his ribs. "Linds!" he exclaimed, clutching his side.

Lindsay smirked. "Serves you right. What exactly is it you're doing here, Mr Messer?"

Danny looked down sheepishly. "Uh, I was just walking past and I saw Flack and stopped for a chat?" he asked more than explained.

Lindsay rolled her eyes. "Nice try, Dan. You're not even supposed to be out of bed."

"Yeah, but I was going crazy cooped up at home. 'Sides, I'm fine," he said, flexing his muscles in an attempt to prove her wrong.

"Bullshit. Danny, you're anything but fine! I saw the expression on your face a moment ago - those ribs had gotta be hurting like crazy. Anyway, you've only been home a day, so what are you moaning about?"

"It was one day too long," Danny mumbled. "You know me, Linds, I like to be in on the action."

Lindsay his her smile. "Yeah, yeah, I know." Boy, did she know, if the night on his pool table the other day had been anything to go by.

Seeing the slight blush on her cheeks, Danny grinned, knowing exactly what she was thinking about.

Flack, who'd been watching the whole exchange in silent amusement, suddenly shook his head with a laugh. "You two are two of the most competitive people I know, you know that? Look, don't worry Linds, I'm sure Mr Muscles over here's not quite stupid enough to do anything that's gonna hurt - he's much more of a wimp than he lets on," Flack teased.

"Hey!" Danny exclaimed as Flack and Lindsay laughed. He was glad, though, that Flack had changed the subject from Lindsay's worrying. He knew that _technically _he should really be home resting. But the nurse _had_ said he could go out again once he was feeling better. And he was definitely feeling better than yesterday - even if he wasn't quite ready to be chasing down suspects yet or indulging in a repeat performance of the other night with Lindsay.

Glancing at her watch, Lindsay sighed. "Well, boys, I better get to work." Pointing her finger at Danny, she said, "You - behave."

Danny held his hands up in mock surrender. "Yeah, yeah. Promise."

Glancing into his eyes for a second, Lindsay could see the same look that she was sure was mirrored in her own - uncertainty.

What she wanted more than anything right now before heading inside to start her shift was to press a kiss to Danny's lips. But with Flack right there, she was hesitant. She and Danny hadn't really discussed where exactly they stood in their relationship yet.

Since she'd returned from Montana a little over a month earlier, she and Danny had definitely been 'more than friends.' And two days ago they had slept together. Yet she wasn't certain if Danny wanted to go public with their relationship just yet, and she wasn't quite sure what she wanted, either. Danny's expression told her he felt the same.

The expression on Flack's face, however, told her that he probably already suspected that something was going on between them. But she chose not to acknowledge that.

Instead she turned to Danny and placed a quick, friendly kiss on his cheek before turning and giving Flack a quick smile. "See you guys later," she said softly before turning toward the entrance to the building.

She'd only taken a couple of steps, however, when she felt Danny's fingers grab her arm. "Montana, wait."

"Yeah?"

"Wanna have lunch later?" he asked quietly, almost shyly.

Lindsay smiled. "Sure. I'll call you when I can meet you."

Danny nodded, and let his hand slide down her arm, squeezing her fingers softly with his before letting her go.

Touching his shoulder quickly, Lindsay gave him another quick smile before going inside.

As soon as she was out of sight, Don turned toward his friend and planted his hands on his hips. "Okay, Messer. Spill."

Danny held up his hands. "What?''

Flack rolled his eyes. "You and Monroe! Come on Danno, those looks that passed between the two a ya's were definitely 'more than friends' kinda looks."

"Whatever," Danny mumbled. "We're just having lunch. I didn't know having lunch with a female co-worker was illegal in this state."

"I'm not talking about lunch, Danny. I'm talkin' about the looks you two were giving each other. There's something there."

"A'right, a'right," Danny muttered. "Yeah, I guess we're 'more than friends' as you put it. But we're both still tryin' to figure it out, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't say anything jus' yet."

Flack nodded and clapped Danny on the back - not too hard so as not to hurt his damaged ribs. "Nah, I'm happy for you, man. It's been a long time coming, you and her."

Danny smiled and looked at the ground. "Yeah, I know. But I really care about her, ya know?"

"I know. I can see it. And for the record, I don't give shit if you wanna kiss her in public. I could see you wanted to," he teased.

"So what, she's a good kisser," Danny defended himself, "And even better in other areas," he added with a grin.

"Whoa, Messer, that's about as much as I wanna hear, thanks."

Danny laughed. "You bought it up. Listen, I think I might just head upstairs and do some paperwork - no one can get mad at me for that."

Don nodded. "I'll se ya later. And seriously, congrats, Danny. I'm happy for you and Linds."

"Yeah. Thanks. See ya," he said, giving his friend a quick wave before taking the elevator to the 35th floor.

After parking himself in he and Lindsay's office out of harm's way, Danny got to work on the neglected mountain of paperwork on his desk that had reached the height of Mount Everest over the past few weeks.

He saw Lindsay briefly a few times throughout the morning, but couldn't help the grin the spread across his face when she walked into their office just after one with her handbag, obviously ready for lunch.

"Ready?" he asked un-necessarily, taking her hand as she helped him carefully out of him chair.

"Ah, my ass," he groaned, "I've been sitting down way too fuckin' long, I can't even feel it."

Lindsay rolled her eyes. "Come on. I thought we could go to that deli at the end of the block - that should be just close enough that you don't strain yourself - and just far enough to give you ass a break from sitting down," she added with a giggle.

"Yeah, laugh it up, Montana," he said, but smiled at the fact that she hadn't let go of his hand - and didn't until they reached the deli.

"Flack knows about us," Danny commented once they sat down to eat.

Lindsay raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

Danny nodded. "I didn't say anything - he guessed," he said quickly.

"I'm not mad that he knows, Dan," Lindsay said with a smile.

"So - does that mean you wanna tell people about us?" Danny asked hopefully. It had taken them so long to get to this stage that he wanted everyone to know they were together.

Lindsay nodded slowly. "I guess - I mean, I don't think we need to go yell it to the world - but I don't want to hold back on the PDA - that should tell them soon enough."

Danny grinned. "PDA? Does that mean office make-out sessions and locker room sex?" he teased.

"No, Daniel, it does not. It means work appropriate," she said with a laugh, but them looked down at her hands. "Um, Dan, when we say that we don't mind people knowing about us, what exactly does 'us' mean?"

Danny shrugged. "I hope it means you'll be my girlfriend," he said with a slight blush.

Lindsay smiled shyly and nodded. "I will - if you'll be my boyfriend," she added with a grin.

"Definitely," Danny said, treating her to the full Messer grin in return.

Once lunch was finished, the two of them made their way slowly hand in hand back to the crime lab. At the entrance, Danny pulled Lindsay gently into his arms.

"I'm gonna go home - follow the doc's orders and rest for a bit - you still coming over later after shift?" Danny whispered into her hair.

Lindsay nodded against his chest, then pulled back reluctantly. "I better get back to work."

Danny nodded. "But first - you said PDA was okay," he said with a smirk, tilting her face up to his.

Lindsay laughed. "That I did," she said softly against his lips before meeting them gently with her own.

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**Hope you liked it - please let me know what you thought!**


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